Current trends in energy production point towards a need for both renewable resources and “green” resources. As the actual, environmental and political costs of fossil fuels continue to rise and accelerate, consumers demand alternate energy sources that are quickly deployable and easily plug and play into existing energy providing networks. To that end, solar power has become a prevalent source for both residential and commercial buildings. FIG. 1 shows a typical solar power system 100 in current practice. Generally, solar cells 110 are angled south when utilized in the Northern hemisphere. The specific angle is usually determined as a function of latitude, to maximize incident sunlight 120 with the solar cell 110. However, several drawbacks to solar power have prevented widespread deployment of such systems 100. The first is that due to the angle required, the frames 115 that support the solar cells 110 must be securely anchored to the building 140 on which the cells 110 are installed because the angle causes the cells 110 to act as sails in any force of wind. In order to securely anchor the frames 115 to the building 140, holes must be drilled through the roof of the building 140. Such drilling can require adherence to building codes, hiring of contractors to do the work, and other expenses on top of the cost of the solar power system 100 itself.
In typical tilted solar power systems 100 as shown, the angle of the solar cells 110 forms a “dead zone” where shadows fall as the sun traverses the sky. Panels placed within those “dead zones” will suffer decreased current production during the times in which shadows fall upon them. Generally, no panels are placed within “dead zones,” detrimentally effect overall current generation and efficient and compact use of available space on roof tops.
Furthermore, rooftops of most commercial buildings, and some residential buildings, have pipes 130 thereupon for air ventilation, climate control, and the like. Such pipes 130 routinely require service, and due to that requirement, the frames 115 cannot cost effectively be built around or over the pipes 130. If the frames 115 are installed over the pipes 130, service to the pipes would require the removal of the anchor bolts to remove the frames 115, increasing the cost of service. Frequently, the frames 115 are not able to be installed over pipes 130. If a pipe 130 were to burst, the frames 115 installed around and above the pipe 130 would delay emergency repairs. In some municipalities, building codes restrict permanent fixtures such as solar panes from being installed above piping. Because of these drawbacks, large areas on roofs cannot be used for solar power generation. Also, up to half the cost of deploying a solar power system 100 is non recoverable installation cost. Many other support systems for solar panels are currently used other than the frame 120 shown, but all suffer from the inherent deficiencies mentioned above.